One Month Ago...

Trey and I received a video camera this past Christmas, and we have loved using it!  However, we were unable to transfer our videos from the camera to our computer.  After learning that we needed to upgrade our operating system (which was apparently 5 years old, even though our computer is less than 2 years old.....hmmm.....) things are up and running properly.  This is a little clip from a video that we took of Little R exactly one month ago from today.  I wish we could show the whole thing, but it is too large to download.  It is so fun to wonder what he is actually trying to say.  Here is our little talking baby!

Friendship: One of Life's Greatest Blessings

One of my best friends got married last weekend.  Frances Squyres (formerly known as Frances Thomas) and I met sometime during 2nd or 3rd grade.  We did not attend the same school until high school, but we were best buds at church.  Honestly, we did not have much of a choice, being that we were the only 2 girls in our grade, but I am pretty sure we would have chosen to become friends anyway.  We made so many memories together during our growing up years.  We went off to camp for the first time together, stepped on a yellow jacket's next for the first time together, went to youth group for the first time together, and went off to college together.  We cheered and ran track together during high school and spent every Sunday together at church and youth group.  Frances has always been such a big part of my life, and I am so thankful to have a close friend that I have shared so much of my life with.  I was so honored to be a part of her wedding and was so blessed to have her as a part of mine.  We have shared so many milestones together in life, and Frances was also the first friend that came to visit me in the hospital after I had Reives!

As I mentioned earlier, Frances and I went off to college together.  We both attended The University of Georgia, and we truly had the time of our lives!  During our freshmen year at UGA, we met two girls, Lauren Futrell from Atlanta and Gail Dunn from Nashville, TN.  The four of us immediately became friends.  We attended all of the UGA football and basketball games together, played flag football together, ate together at the dining hall, bowled together, danced crazy dances together....you get the point!  During our sophmore year, Frances and I roomed together and Lauren and Gail roomed together in the dorms.  Our friendship continued, and our junior year, we all four lived together in an apartment......TC 45 (Towneclub #45)!  My favorite college memories happened in TC 45.  We had an amazing, crazy, fun time, and we all came out better friends than before we lived together.  I mean, we truly functioned like a family. We bought groceries together, cooked together, prayed together, laughed together, and cried together.  Friends like those three are hard to come by.

I am so thankful that we all four are still so close.  It was such a special weekend to have all four of us together for Frances's wedding.  When we get together, it really feels like no time has passed.  I think we all do a pretty good job at keeping up with each other's lives, and I am not just talking about the surface things like jobs and houses.  I am talking about the things that only your closest friends care to know about.  You know, the things like how your feelings got hurt by what a parent told you at parent teacher conferences or about how down you feel after moving to a new place or how God is teaching you to be more like him by forgiving someone who has hurt you.  These are the girls I call on when life gets tough.  These are the girls I call on when life gets exciting.  I love these girls, and I feel so incredibly blessed to have them in my life.  I just wish they would move closer....New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles are a little bit too far!

I love my TC 45ers!

Having Fun....

Little R loves his rainforest exersaucer!

My Valentines

Happy Valentine's Day!!!  This year my Valentine's Day is extra special....I have an extra person to love today.  I feel like such a princess living in a house with three boys (Trey, Reives, and Chip!)  I mean what more could a girl want than to be the Valentine of 3 men (well 2 men and a dog)!  I'll start with Chip....

I love this picture of Chip!  No, that is not bird poop on his head....it is spit up.  Chip had no idea Reives had spit up on his head and walked around like this for a few minutes just so I could have a good laugh.  Then he decided to rub his head into the carpet, which ended the laughter!.  Chip has been a mama's boy from the very beginning.  During the day, he follows me EVERYWHERE.  I mean if I go upstairs, Chip goes upstairs.  If I walk outside, Chip walks outside.  He is my little shadow.  He is so much fun to have around, and our lives would not be the same without our little Chip!  We are so thankful we picked him up at Keller's Flea Market 4 1/2 years ago :)

My sweet Little R!  I cannot believe that it has been 5 months since he came into the world!  Trey and I can hardly remember what it was like without him.  He is the sweetest thing ever!  He has brought us so much joy and laughter and has filled our hearts with more love than we knew we could have.  We are so thankful to the Lord for creating Little R perfectly and for blessing our lives with him.  His sweet smile melts my heart, and I am so thankful that I have the privilege to be his mama....it is the most wonderful job in the world!  I love you, little R......Happy Valentine's Day!

I just have to take a moment to say that my husband is the most incredible man in the world!  I am so thankful that God brought us together and hand picked us for each other.  He is truly the perfect partner for me.  He is my best friend, and I still get so excited each day when he gets home from work.  He is a great listener, gives great advice, helps me so much without being asked, and he makes me laugh....ALOT!  He prays for our family and seeks God's wisdom and guidance for our family and that means more than anything.  I have enjoyed watching him as a father, and I love watching Little R smile and laugh at his Daddy.  You can tell that they already have such a special bond.  Trey, thank you for being my Valentine today and every day.  I love you so so much!!!!!

Extras:

Bathtime

Bath time around our house is so much fun.  It usually begins around 6:30 (right at Little R's peak fussy time of the day).  As soon as we plop him in the bath....he is all smiles until bedtime :)  A warm, relaxing bath does a lot of good after a stressful day....just ask Little R!

Little R has always loved his bath (he takes after his mama)!  I cannot remember but one time when he cried during bath time.  Even when he was a few weeks old, he loved having cups of water poured over his head and face.  Here is a picture of his first bath....

Now, Little R's favorite bath time activity is trying to eat his rubber ducky.  He loves this little, yellow duck...in fact, it may be his new best friend!   He squeals and laughs when we make it squeak, and he constantly watches it float around in the water.  Here are some pics from last night's bath time....

Yummy!

Down for the Count...

Well....it happened....not sure how, but it happened.  Friday, little R and I went to meet some friends for a "playdate."  We got home around lunchtime, I put little R down for a nap, and I made my staple lunch, a peanut butter and banana sandwich.  I fixed a glass of lemonade, took my lunch into the den, and sat down on the couch for a little R&R.  Then, it happened.....OUCH!  I literally sat down on the couch and major pain started to radiate through my lower back.  Not sure how I did it, but it happened.  Thankfully, a sweet friend who lives down the street came over to help me with Reives, who I could not pick up, until Trey could get home....blessing #1!  My dear, sweet Daddy, who happens to be a physical therapist, came over after work to assess what was going on.... blessing #2!  By the time he got there, my back was completely shifted, and yes, I was crooked.  I could not straighten my back.  The assessment: majorly pulled muscle.  Daddy gave me instructions...ice, ibuprofen, rest, no lifting, etc.  This happened on a Friday when Trey would be home for the next 2 days to take care of and lift little R....blessing #3!  I continue to be amazed at how God works out the details surrounding seemingly minor things such as a pulled muscle, but He does.  I am so thankful for these reminders that no problem we have is too small for HIM!

So, how did this happen....not sure??  It could have been the yoga class I attended on Thursday night....could have been the months of carrying around a 15+ pound baby in a very heavy baby carrier....could have been a number of things, but this mama is down for the count for a few days.  Blessing #4.....no changing dirty diapers this weekend :)

No More Little Green Friend

When I was pregnant with little R, I received several lovies at baby showers.  Some of these lovies included a stuffed animal head, attached to the lovie and others were just a small square blanket.  I do not ever remember having one of these lovies as a child, so I was not too sure if/how we would use them.  Well, it turns out, my baby LOVES his lovie.  We have been using a green frog lovie that his Grandmommy gave him for the past 2 weeks to help little R soothe himself to sleep.  It has worked like a charm until.......

Saturday morning.  Sorry, little guy, no more lovie at night for you....we cannot handle worrying about if you have covered your head with green frog all night.  I decided to still let him have it for naps, since I can go in and check on him and remove it if that sweet, little face is all covered up.  Yay for little R, though, he is still sleeping through the night, even without his little green friend!

On a side note.....don't you just want to pinch these sweet cheeks????